Tuesday, March 1, 2011

My Love Affair With Food

You know what I love? I love that after busting my butt all week at my paying job and then at my love child job (Portland’s Culinary Workshop, if there was any question) I can get excited about having a rare swath of time in my schedule to go home and cook.My handsome wonderful amazing husband has been ridiculously supportive of my new venture by taking on all of the meals at home, and this sentence is dedicated to letting him know how very much I appreciate that (someday baby, you’ll get a whole paragraph). But the other day I found myself at home while it was still light outside and I had seafood extravaganza on my mind. Clams, shrimp and sole, I could have gone crazy but I was only cooking for three and leftover seafood is not one of my favorites unless it’s smoked or raw.A fantastic broth of ginger, galangal, lime leaves, lemongrass, cilantro, and onions that I steeped for 2 hours, was intended to steam the clams in it last minute and finished with fresh cilantro. Despite its Asian components I made sure I had loads of crispy garlic bread to soak up the extra broth.The shrimp were cut in half lengthwise and tossed quickly in garlic that had been sweated in oil. Then the shrimp were finished with a pat of butter and toasted coconut. Sweet and garlicky! Yummy!Served on a bed of simply cooked broccolini and fennel, the sole was sautéed quickly and finished with fresh fennel fronds, capers and lemon juice.I pulled out the platters and the plates, the cloth napkins and shell bowls and settled down with an amazing spread that pleased everyone. It’s nice after all these years that I still love cooking for myself and my family after I get done with a day of cooking and teaching for others. Instead of writing about all the continuing details of pulling together a business and getting it off the ground I thought I’d take a break and write about my continuing love affair with food. I hope that I get to share it with you.